Varied Cultures Of Malaysia

This white tower is home to Apis Dorsatas, world's largest honeybees and the most ferocious. These honeybees build their beads of nests up on the branches of tualang trees, about 100 feet from the forest floor as the smooth trunk of the tualang makes it difficult for humans and sunbears to climb.

The Kain Tenun Pahang first arrived in Peninsular Malaysia in 1722. When the Dutch invaded the port of Makassar in Sulawesi in 1669, it caused an exodus of the local Bugis to lands far from colonial influences. They finally landed in Pahang known then as Inderapura

The dastar, an elaborate Malay styled headgear worn by the once feared seafaring community of the Bajau has similar weaving techiniques to the songket .The dastar uses supplementary weft weaving where coloured threads are added to the weft to create the designs

The Iban longhouse sits on stilts and normally accommodates the entire village. Unlike the land dayaks, the Ibans or Sea Dayaks position their villages on the banks of accessible waterways. The Ibans are great adventurers and take long sojourns across lands but prefer using the waterways to move about.

The Melanau people make up 5.8% of Sarawak 's population, mostly living in the central coastal region. The Malanaus used to live close to sea and as a result were exposed to many pirate attacks, hence they built sturdy houses some 40ft above ground.

The orang ulu are made up of a few tribes namely the Kenyah, Kayan, Klemantan, Kelabit, the Lun Bawang, Penan as well as a few minor tribes in the interior. Orang Ulu, means the "up-river dwellers" mainly living in Central Borneo, which accounts for 5.5% of the population

The Penans ancestral grounds are in the dense jungle forests where the controversial Bakun Dam is located. The Penans are nomadic people and are one of the very few nomadic tribes in Borneo . In the 1860's Odoardo Beccari, a renown botanist remarked that the Penans were man-hunters which is to say that they had no qualms about slaying any human beings in which they had no dealings with

The Hma' Meri rely heavily on the dwindling forests nearby. Much of their daily lives are linked to the tiny jungle. With plantations ever expanding on the island and encroaching into the reserves, they find it more difficult to find wood for their carvings

Ta Siu Yan or Keng Chek was practised by farmers in old China long before Taoism or Buddhism or Confucianism became part of their lives. This is ceremony is normally conducted just after Chinese New Year. The old ritual began as an observation of change of seasons from winter to spring and the beginning of the year's planting of crops.

Hungry Ghost Festival falls on the 7th moon, 15th day of the Chinese Lunar Calendar.The build up to this festive date begins roughly a week before. Chinese Opera's and Chinese Puppet Shows are put together for audiences - the living and the non-living alike, at Temples and certain Chinese Associations for a week prior to the big day.

Once a year, Batu Caves become the centre of a great religious procession. Almost 1 million people pay homage to the highly revered deity, Lord Murugan during the 3-day long festival. Thaipusam falls on the tenth day of the month of Thai in the Hindu Almanac and that would usually be in late January or early February.

Like the name… Community really works. It takes people to work together for a better cause and it takes a lot of effort to ensure the wellbeing of the community. After all, human beings live in social packs and a healthy social pack is a forward thinking society. All it takes is a group of visionaries to realise that and be diligent and patient enough to unite the crowd.

Ramadan is the month for rebuilding our spiritual strength. It falls on the the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which all Muslims must fast during the daylight hours. Indulgence of any sort is forbidden during the fast.

The cultural village is described as a 'living museum'. Featuring a collection of traditional houses scattered over 17 acres of landscaped land, this village was set up to provide visitors an insight into the different cultures, architectures and peoples that make up Sarawak 's population. There are 7 traditional houses

Just 25 minutes drive from Kota Kinabalu city centre is the Monsopiad Cultural Village . This is an excursion that may take about 2 to 3hours of your time but is well worth the time just to delve into a little of the kadazandusun tradition and history.

In the old days, the gong maker would only work on his art when he was sure there were no outsiders to witness his craft. Otherwise, he would retreat deep into the jungle with his tools and materials to continue his work.

This cooperative is managed by the women folk and has been in operation since 1991 as a form of alternative income to alleviate the people above the poverty line. Today, the villagers actively work on expanding their bee farm and promoting its produce.

The Bidayuh longhouse consists of a longhouse or several longhouses and a main head house called a Barok. Barok is where ceremonies are held and where young men and bachelors reside. The longhouses are for families and when boys come of age, they are sent to stay in the Barok until time when he marries

Akademi Nik Rashiddin is a treasure. It is one of the few organisations in Malaysia that are run by individuals whose undying passion for the true Malay art is pure and unadulterated. It is not a museum, it is a testimant that the Malay civilisation was once truly an elite class of its own. Sadly no more...

The festival was a big gathering of local communities ~ everyone happy to see each other, relatives from villages all over Sabah, meeting up, joyous and over food and rice wine - music and dancing. Laughs and stories.

The wooden fishing boats moored at Pengkalan Anak Gajah are brightly painted with an assortment of motifs , mainly of flora as encouraged by the Islamic movement to steer away from using human and animal motifs